Ping’an Yueqing

On 27 December 2010, village chief Qian Yunhui died in a road accident in Yueqing, in Eastern China. He was crushed under the front wheel of an enormous red truck. That, at least, was the version spread by the Chinese authorities and the trucker was soon convicted. But there were also doubts; according to his family and many fellow villagers, he was murdered. Protests soon swelled, especially online, where gruesome photos appeared of his crushed body.
Ai Weiwei Studio, the production company of the world’s most celebrated thorn in the side of the authorities, the artist Ai Weiwei, also took an interest in the case. In this thorough documentary, terrified villagers appear in front of the camera and the accident is reconstructed. It gradually becomes clear that Qian Yunhui was an irritation for the authorities and that this incident is not isolated. A tragic road accident or brutal murder?